Elite Dangerous’s new ship, the Mandalay, is a thing of beauty. It’s so beautiful, in fact, that when it was released on October 31, we challenged our community of Elite Dangerous veterans and content creators to acquire one, then snap some gorgeous screenshots and footage. The results, which we’ve separated into Mandalay images and Mandalay videos below, took our breath away. The ship has instantly become a favourite. Zorgon Peterson, you’ve done it again! Don’t believe us? Here’s a quote from Just About Elite Dangerous member Rac: 

“Thanks Frontier, it's news to me that you have a connection with Santa Claus but apparently you read my wish list. The Mandalay is all I've ever wanted in an exploration ship!”

Screenshots of the Mandalay - Elite Dangerous’s new ship

Every one of our community members who submitted an image of Elite Dangerous’s new ship received a $5 prize. We also gave out two $15 prizes, for the best screenshot and for the best video. Gadnok won the first of them for this shot of the Mandalay soaring over mountains, which they captioned: “Mandalay wings feeling the solid air.”

The Mandalay looks just as gorgeous on the ground as it does in the air. Just ask Niceygy: 

Elite Dangerous’s new ship continues the game’s serpentine ship-naming convention; it’s named after the Mandalay spitting cobra. yan57436 captured an image of it ready to strike:

While built for exploration, Gosht asserts that the Mandalay could also prove to be a powerful asset against the Thargoids: 

“It could be a good AX (Anti-Xeno) ship to jump from combat zone to combat zone as it has a 44ly range with a G5 AX setup. With a hull of around 4,500 and boost of 550, she carries two mod shards and two AGF (Anti-Guardian Field) gauss with two small thermal vent turreted lasers. She’s awesome to fly in supercruise, and she’ll probably make a great Titan bomber, as she’s definitely not short of slots. I name my design ‘Illusion of Reality’. She looks good in red, don’t you think?” 

By winning our AX Kill of the Week special with a Thargoid takedown supercut, jnTracks has already proven Gosht’s theory: 

Moonshade Gaming couldn’t help but give their Mandalay a name either: “I’m naming my Mandalay ‘Leaf on the Wind’. It might be a touch controversial (iykyk), but c’mon, just watch how she soars.” And boy, what a shot; so serene…

Jimmy0916 / Cmdr Donald Duck. who submitted a beautiful Mandalay screenshot showing off Elite Dangerous’s new ship’s manoeuvrability, was also reminded of other beloved sci-fi IPs:

“It reminds me of the Milano and Benatar ships from Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as a ship from another space sim. Overall, it’s a very stylish design. And it flies good 😉”

jnTracks opted for silver and royal blue in their design, giving their Mandalay a noble aesthetic: 

If the Mandalay was designed to encourage players to explore, it’s working. Roin accompanied their gorgeous shot with the caption: “my first time flying for the sake of exploration!”

And they weren’t alone. Here’s Kralone:

“The Mandalay is such a gorgeous ship! I will travel further in the galaxy than ever before, ‘cause I'm in love of this beauty!”

We particularly love their second shot, in which Kralone expertly frames a top-down view of the Mandalay. 

mastercesspit is equally enthusiastic about their glistening scarlet ship, asking “isn’t she beautiful?” We’ll let mastercesspit’s Mandalay screenshots answer that question. 

CMDR_M is loving Elite Dangerous’s new ship too. Here’s a selection of some great snaps from the maiden voyage of theirs, the ‘Galactic Glider’:

With one great Mandalay screenshot on a carrier and another on a dust ring that looks like a saltplain, JHenckes was eager to show off his baby: 

Stoikiy just submitted one image, but it’s an absolute stunner:

CMDR CMDR John Wick submitted a beautiful pastel image that was another strong contender for our top prize:

Talk about an action shot! Ilyssoll captured a showstopper: 

Featuring the glitziest makeover of the lot, Alec_Turner's golden Mandalay looks fit to transport any of the leaders of the Superpowers: 

Hunter calls the Mandalay the “perfect ship”, and shows that it’s pretty in-flight, in-combat, and in-hanger:

“I love this ship!” Rac was one of many players who bid a fond farewell to the Diamondback Explorer; they’ve got a new love now: 

‘I love this ship’ is one of those phrases that kept popping up in our community’s responses. Donut said it too, before adding: “I caught a sunrise and an eclipse at the same time while testing out my new Mandalay! I got some sick shots!”

Another phrase we read multiple times? “She’s beautiful.” This time it was from mypets, who submitted three screenshots of the Mandalay skirting a planetary ring: 

Silhouetted by the sun, the Mandalay in AndyRice's picture - the ‘UES Talon’ - shows that Elite Dangerous’s new ship is a sight to behold, even from a distance. 

As one with a keen eye for aesthetics, it came as no surprise to us that Beetlejude's Mandalay images are gorgeous. We particularly love how the blood-red haze of the nebula brings out the neon blue of the Mandalay’s jets. 

“I think Frontier has done a great job on the Mandalay. It’s pleasingly like the Diamondback in its engine layout, and it has the grace and curves of the Cutter.”

Wotherspoon's regal Mandalay screenshots took our breath away and almost won the top prize. Instead, we’ve chosen one of them as the cover image for this article. 

As for the thermal vents in the moving image: pure genius. And it sets us up nicely for…

Videos of the Mandalay - Elite Dangerous’s new ship

CMDR_nailz_ took the $15 prize for best video, with these “two minutes of music and visuals designed to trigger curiosity”. 

The sand of an alien planet crunches underfoot as CMDR Henckes approaches his resplendent ship. The landing gear smoothly retracts as the Mandalay ascends to altitude. Thrusters are engaged and red flame shoots from the dual tailpipes. The engines roar and the full power of Elite Dangerous’s new ship is put on display. 

“The new Mandalay is really good!! I’ve already been using her to gather raw materials outside of the Bubble. She’s fast, has the best manoeuvrability among medium ships, and has some of the best design aesthetics in all of Elite. This ship is a dream!”

RicardosGaming went for a different tack, laying out the pros and cons of the Standard and Stellar builds in a guide:

Hunter submitted some animated images as well as static ones, and we can’t help but love the wiggling tail of the neutron star here:

Alec_Turner submitted video as well as images, and in this dramatic eight-minute race, they put the Mandalay through its paces in a Buckyball loop. While it’s yet to ‘officially’ enter Buckyball, just take a look at the video title to see what Alec thinks of its potential: 

Alec wasn’t the only person to test the Mandalay’s horsepower. Dydo decided to discover for themselves how fit Elite’s new exploration ship is for exploration by taking it on the hallowed journey to Colonia. While they were already part-way to their destination, they were still likely one of the first commanders to have completed the journey in a Mandalay.

“The journey took me a week or so. When the Mandalay was released, I was lucky enough to be docked in a midway station with my Asp Explorer, which has the same module sizes. So I bought one, switched modules, and completed my journey with the GOAT (and +8ly with the same outfit!)”

For more great exploration-themed Elite Dangerous content, check out these Elite Dangerous documentaries, these video diaries of Elite Dangerous explorers, or these videos created to celebrate the Elite Dangerous anniversary. Some text has been edited for brevity, clarity, or spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You can find the original wording here. Image credit: Frontier Developments and Wotherspoon.